Captain Connolly leads from front

Since 2013, the Subiaco Colts have not made finals, but in 2017 finals are looking to be a distinct possibility.

A key catalyst behind the Colts’ resurgence this year, is their inspirational captain Liam Connolly.

Only appointed the Captain at the start of this year, Connolly admits it took him a little while for the appointment to sink in.

“It took a while, took a couple of weeks to sink in, considering how many people have got in the squad and they picked me,” he said.

[It is a] massive honour. I suppose I didn’t really expect it, so getting it I was like woah, ok they think of me that highly. That was a pretty proud moment,” he added.

The new captain sees himself as a role model for his team-mates, and aims to demonstrate this through his on-field actions.

“I try to show them via the way I act to try and help them and also via communication as well… I try and show them this is how you can do it,” he said.

The 2017 skipper has been in sensational form so far this season, averaging 13 possessions, and six marks (he is currently ranked #1 in the competition for marks) in 15 games so far,

He has produced outstanding performances against South Fremantle in round one (20 possessions and nine marks), West Perth in round three (12 possessions and six marks), Claremont in round six (18 possessions and 13 marks), Peel Thunder in round 11 (20 possessions and 10 marks) and Perth in round 16 (13 possessions, seven marks and three inside 50s).

The Scarborough junior credits the Colts’ coaching staff for help with his and the team’s development in 2017.

“They’ve challenged us more than anything and I suppose challenged the group and certain players as well to help them achieve the best out of themselves,” Connolly said.

The talented key defender models his game on West Coast Eagles’ pair Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass, and it is easy to see the similarities.

He has excellent ability to read the ball in flight and knows when to come off his opponent at the right time to affect the contest.

“Jeremy McGovern, very much so [modelling his game on] and Barrass, seeing him play, I’m an Eagles supporter so I see them every week so I have tried to look at how they play and that.”

With the Colts having a reasonably tough draw coming up, Connolly is trying not to get caught up, but rather focussing one week at a time.

“Probably try not to think about it too much… Just try to play our brand of footy each week and try not change things too much,” he said.

With only five games left, Connolly and the Colts are only just two games clear of East Perth and West Perth in fifth position, meaning they will be keen to assert their authority in the coming weeks.